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I think Behringer outsources their manufacturing to China, so I don't think it is a rebranded Yamaha. I have my doubts that Yamaha would engage in such business practices. However, it could be a "clone", where product is designed to look like something much more popular and acclaimed. They "cloned" a type of stage light called the ETC Source Four Par (which is a high quality instrument selling for about $150) and sold it for $99 while cutting corners in materials and quality control. Many users have been frustrated with it and a lot of their other audio/lighting gear.

Behringer is an established brand that hasa reputation for offering satisfactorymusic gear at economical prices. Thispiano should be along the same lines,a satisfactory digital piano at a bargain price.

Originally posted by Gyro: Behringer is an established brand that hasa reputation for offering satisfactorymusic gear at economical prices. Thispiano should be along the same lines,a satisfactory digital piano at a bargain price. [/b]

MUNGE! THORP!

I saw the upright model online at a web site in Norway for $1,110. Are you really recommending someone spend nearly twice as much as you normally recommend? OUTRAGEOUS!

I also saw it on a French web site for only $900. Still well above your recommended Williams Encore.

Originally posted by LesCharles73:I think Behringer outsources their manufacturing to China, so I don't think it is a rebranded Yamaha.[/b]

I don't know where Behringer speakers are made. But many other speaker manufacturers have outsourced to China. (I read about that on a different forum while searching for speakers.) So I'd not be surprised to hear that Behringer has done so.

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I have my doubts that Yamaha would engage in such business practices.[/b]

Perhaps Yamaha licensed the rights to Behringer? The outward appearance of the unit in question is different from any Yamaha I've seen, but the function codes (set in the software) are the same. So the software must be Yamaha's.

Looks like a cheap made in china...generic digital piano in a grand case. I wouldn't touch this.

Quote:

Originally posted by Gyro: Behringer is an established brand that hasa reputation for offering satisfactorymusic gear at economical prices. Thispiano should be along the same lines,a satisfactory digital piano at a bargain price. [/b]

As with all piano's never buy before you try, whether it's a piano made by one of the big name makers or an "el cheapo" brand, if you play an "el cheapo" and your happy with it OK. I was told a lot of the cheaper end brands were either cloned or re-badged obsolete Roland pianos.

Originally posted by bobbo: Looks like a cheap made in china...generic digital piano in a grand case. I wouldn't touch this.

Quote:

Originally posted by Gyro: Behringer is an established brand that hasa reputation for offering satisfactorymusic gear at economical prices. Thispiano should be along the same lines,a satisfactory digital piano at a bargain price. [/b]

Bwahahahahaha [/b]

So LHorwinkle says that it's a rebadged Yammie and he's politely disagreed with and gyro says that it's a "satisfactory" digital piano and he's laughed at by those who've never even tried one? Whose statement would be more misleading if taken at face value? Not to pick on you L Horwinkle, you did end your post by asking for opinions and I guess that's what folks key off of when deciding on the tenor of their reply. Also doesn't seem cool to then poke fun at him after your "wild assertion" (though, like gyros statements sometimes, there might be at least some truth to your conclusion based on your observation).

crusader gives the most relevant advice. It _may_ be satisfactory depending on your needs/budget, try it if you can. If you can't, understand that it's a lesser known brand (in the world of DP's) and so there will be a higher risk of not getting your monies worth even at a fairly low retail price based on the companies track record with other products.

There are Motorcycles made in China which are blatant copies, clones, stencilled, re-badged, whatever, of obsolete Honda motorcycles, possibly made with Honda's consent, so it goes on, perhaps with digital pianos too.

Originally posted by crusadar: There are Motorcycles made in China which are blatant copies, clones, stencilled, re-badged, whatever, of obsolete Honda motorcycles, possibly made with Honda's consent, so it goes on, perhaps with digital pianos too.

- [/b]

I'm not sure if Chinese patent laws require them to get consent. It may be legal there to do what we would certainly consider patent infringement or even theft.

There are a number of examples like airguns where chinese products were initially pretty bad, because having a fine German or British design only gets you part way. You still need the engineering expertise and quality control to execute the design. And in most cases, the quality ramps up pretty quickly. I wouldn't buy a first generation chinese product but they can be a real value after the learning curve.

Originally posted by bitWrangler: gyro says that it's a "satisfactory" digital piano and he's laughed at by those who've never even tried one? [/b]

I think the "hahaha" was aimed at the statement that Behringer has a reputation for offering satisfactory music gear. The general consensus is to spend a couple more dollars and stay away from anything Behringer.

_________________________"If we lose freedom here, there's no place to escape to."MSU - the university of Michigan!Wheels

Originally posted by gryphon:... Behringer has a reputation for offering satisfactory music gear. The general consensus is to spend a couple more dollars and stay away from anything Behringer.[/b]

I hear you. I was looking for studio monitors and came upon some recommendations for Behringer. Then I found reviews claiming that the model in question picks up radio interference. IIRC, three of the ten reviews cited that complaint.

So you think you're buying a pair of monitors? They're really radios, whether you like it or not! And, apparently, if you buy it, you're stuck with it. No fixes available.

But how could that possibly be??? I have it on **GOOD AUTHORITY** that:

I am trying more than one thread here, so please bear with me if you see it elsewhere.

I am new here and I can't find much on Behringer 2180? that Costco is selling for $750+tax including bench. I am torn between this Behringer model and Casio Px330. I do see a lot of good info on Casio, but when I add the accessories such as CS-67 (stand), SP32 (pedals) and a decent bench, I am looking at about $700+tax at Guitar Center (after a 15% price match).

I am buying it for my 9 year old daughter to start with, but I am hoping my two other little boys will use it later as well. So I do care for long term reliability in this budget range. Since it is for kids, I would like all the bells & whistles these two models have to offer. It is her Christmas gift.

I am trying more than one thread here, so please bear with me if you see it elsewhere.

I am new here and I can't find much on Behringer 2180? that Costco is selling for $750+tax including bench. I am torn between this Behringer model and Casio Px330. I do see a lot of good info on Casio, but when I add the accessories such as CS-67 (stand), SP32 (pedals) and a decent bench, I am looking at about $700+tax at Guitar Center (after a 15% price match).

I am buying it for my 9 year old daughter to start with, but I am hoping my two other little boys will use it later as well. So I do care for long term reliability in this budget range. Since it is for kids, I would like all the bells & whistles these two models have to offer. It is her Christmas gift.

Any thoughts or recommendations for me?

Thanks.

I've got some Behringer microphones, a cheap mixer, a reverb unit, multi-effects unit, crossover, and a eq. The reverb is amazing, the mics good AFAIKT, the other stuff works like it should. Behringer is rather notorious for copying other designs and selling really cheap. In some ways you get what you pay for, sometimes you get more. Not sure if they are really up to doing a DP, but they manage to make other things OK, and honestly, it's hard to imagine anyone screwing up DPs any harder than the big players are doing.

That said, I haven't seen one, but the Behringer DP sounds like something to avoid.

I can't say I'd recommend the Casio PX-330 either, the keys feel "springier" than a Yamaha and the mechanism may not prove to be as robust. The piano sample is just OK, and the other samples are really poor. The cathedral organ in particular sounds like it was recorded inside of a tin can - completely useless.

Go for the best hammer-action and the best piano sample you can afford, avoid everything else as you will pay too dearly for it. If you can't afford the Yamaha P-155, try a Yamaha P-85. Add a Quik-Lok W550 stand, and a Quik-Lok BZ-7 bench. Avoid X stands (no leg room). Get 20% off & free shipping on all of it at www.music123.com.

You might also scour Craig's list for a real piano. You'll have the move & upkeep costs to deal with, but it's the real deal. Often people give them away free or for little money, my wife runs across free ones all the time.

I think Behringer outsources their manufacturing to China, so I don't think it is a rebranded Yamaha. I have my doubts that Yamaha would engage in such business practices. However, it could be a "clone", where product is designed to look like something much more popular and acclaimed.

This is Behringer's business model. They do it all the time. They make things that look very much like a popular items and work just the same but sell at half the price.

Behringer's audio mixers look just like Mackie mixers but lack some of the quality. I actually bought one. Works well but the sound is not "pro quality" I would never use the mixer for recording but All I wanted was to mix a iPod into my headphone mix. For that it was overkill.

I'd buy Behringer brand if I had an un-demanding application or if I only needed something for occasional non-critical use, like inserting an iPod in a headphone feed. I tried recording with the mixer but the background hiss was unacceptable. The mic preamps were no up to the task.